Re: Katie Grace
by Kristen Verne
Summary: Adopted from StarLight837's Katie Grace story. With no real family, moved from house to house, three-year-old Katie Grace has had a rough life. When she is taken in by the Darby's she finds some new friends in the Autobots, and maybe a family. All the while, playing a bigger role than anyone thought.
1. Chapter 1

Hi guys! Got a new story for ya! I adopted it from StarLight837.

Some of you may have read the original Katie Grace story or are reading Galaxy Mermaid's version. Galaxy Mermaid and I are writing sister stories, she's starting from where StarLight left off while I'm restarting with a new twist in it. I hope you guys like it.

I do not own Transformers and their characters; they belong to Hasbro. Katie Grace belongs to StarLight837!

* * *

**Re: Katie Grace**

Jack looked at his watch; how much longer was he going to have to wait? Why his mother had chosen to become a foster parent, he would never know; she was never really home, so it would most likely be him watching this new kid.

His attention turned to the door as his mother opened it. In her arms was a little blonde toddler with the brightest, bluest eyes he'd ever seen. "Jack, come here," June called, "Come meet Katie Grace!"

He looked at the little girl in his mother's arms. "Hi there Katie; my name is Jack."

"Hi…" she waved slowly back. A tiny little smile crossed her features.

"Jack," His mother slowly handed the child to Jack, "The social worker dropped her off a day too late. I expected her yesterday, so that's why I took off work yesterday. I have work tonight so I won't be able to stay with her."

He sighed, "You need me to watch her tonight… I can do that." A wry smile spread across his face. "Good thing you kept all those classic Disney movies and there's a frozen pizza in the freezer we can eat."

June smiled, "I knew I could count on you." Glancing at the child, "I've gotta go to work, but I'll be back. Your new big brother will watch you." With that, she turned and left.

"Jack…" The toddler looked up at his eyes.

"So Katie… how old are you?" She held up three fingers. "You're three?" She nodded. Jack set her on the couch and began rummaging through the movies. "Do you like _Pocahontas_?"

"Yea!" Her blue eyes glimmered happily. Jack popped the DVD in and, as it played, he put the pizza in the oven. "Jack… you comin'?"

He sat beside her, the little girl eventually cuddling up beside her new brother, quickly falling asleep.

* * *

June took her break early, driving home to check on her son and foster daughter. She was surprised to find them on the couch, _Pocahontas _on the TV, a half-eaten pizza on the coffee table, and Katie leaning on Jack, sleeping.

"Hi Mom," Jack turned his head, "She conked out right after she ate."

"I'm not surprised. The drive here was a number of hours so she would be really tired." After a moment she spoke, "You don't mind sleeping in the study and allowing her to use your bed… at least until I can get a bed for her."

"I don't mind." Jack picked her up, going to his room, and laid the toddler on the bed.

He came back down to June. "How long is she staying?"

"I might adopt her, if things work out. She's had a hard life; when they found Katie, her mother had collapsed and died on the orphanage steps. No one knows about her father. To top it off, we are the tenth family in the last two months to take her in."

The boy's eyes glanced towards his room. "She seems so sweet; I can't believe she went through that." He softened, "I hope we can keep her, I don't like any little kid going through horrible things."

"Jack, you are kind and care for others. I'm sure you will be a good big brother for her. We will give it a while before I make a final decision but I would like to keep her as well." June smiled, "Now, take care of her, I've got to get back to work. Be back later."

Jack watched as her car drove away. "A good big brother… I can try…"

* * *

(Two Weeks Later)

Jack sighed as the hours ticked by. Why did this work shift feel like a million years? No one sat in the KO Burger dining area and no one came through the drive through. He had cleaned everything there was to clean and there was nothing to do.

He looked up as the door opened, his eyes shining as a familiar toddler tottered inside with June following behind.

"Jack!" Katie rushed around the counter, clasping at the boy's legs.

"Good to see you too, Kate!"

"Jack," his mother glanced at her watch, "They called me in for work, so I was wondering…"

"You shouldn't even have to ask, of course I'll watch the twerp!"

"Hey!" Jack chuckled at her high-pitched whine. He lifted her into his arms as she playfully scowled at him.

His mother sighed in relief, "Thank you, Jack!" Without another word, the nurse ran out, hopping into her car.

The two left in the diner sat a booth. "Ok, Kate, until a customer comes I'm all yours." This last hour wasn't going to be so bad after all.

The bond between Jack and Katie had grown over the last two weeks. The little girl already had Jack wrapped around her finger; he loved her as if she was his real sister. Since June was always at work, he had watched her and grew closer to her. By now, he would do anything for her and she would try to do the same for him. Little Katie followed him around and tried to mirror him; if he was sad, she was sad, if he was happy, she was too, and if he was mad, she would be as well.

"How long we gotta be here?"

"Just one hour, Kate… that's not too bad."

The child scrunched up her face, "An hour! Dat's like a gajillion minutes!"

"It'll go by fast, I promise!" The door opened and a group of teenagers entered. "I'll be right back, Katie. Stay here, unless someone messes with you, ok." The little girl nodded as he stood, making his way over to the counter.

His foster sister smiled at him, waving as he worked.

A familiar face approached the register, "Hey, Darby!"

"Hello, Vince… what can I get for you?"

"How bout, a number four and a strawberry milkshake," the bully's face twisted into a grin, "Hey, Darby, I been seeing ya with that little kid. She your sister or something?"

Jack glared, "Do not mess with my sister! Oh, and that'll be three twenty-six." Vince slammed the money on the counter. "Thank you… sir…"

As the bully walked away, Jack felt a tugging on his pants leg. "Jack?" Katie stood by him, her blue eyes staring into his gray ones. "You ok?"

"I'm fine…"

"He make you mad…?"

"Yea…"

"Why?" Katie looked at the bully.

The boy knelt down and whispered, "Because, he's a bully. Now go sit down; I'm just fine." With a nod, the girl skipped off to the booth, continuing to watch her brother.

* * *

Jack stretched as his shift finally ended. "Hey Kate, ready to go?"

"Yea!" She hopped from her seat, her two pigtails bouncing joyfully. Grasping his hand, dragging her brother towards the door. "Come on! Let's go!"

Leaving the diner, the heat blasted their faces but they didn't falter in their steps. The sound of rock music reached Jack's ears; grabbing his phone he answered, "Hey Mom! I'm good, and yes, Katie is fine. I'm gonna take her to the theater. She wanted to go see _Frozen_, isn't that right Katie?"

"Yea!" As Jack continued to converse with June, the child glance around at the few cars in the parking lot. One particular vehicle caught her attention; parked near the door was a blue and pink motorcycle. "Bike!" Tottering over, she touched the front wheel.

"Katie, what are you doing?" Jack placed his phone in his pocket, approaching the girl, "Oh, you like the motorcycle."

"Yea! Pretty bike! Jack, can I ride it?"

He shook his head in defeat, "It's not mine. But…" Picking her up, Jack sat on the bike with the girl in his lap. "I'm sure that the owner won't mind us just sitting on it."

"Hey Jack!" The two turned and saw a girl about Jack's age.

Jack's face flushed pink, "Oh, hi there Sierra…" Katie looked at her brother questioningly. Why was this girl making him so nervous? "What's up…?"

"Nothing… just getting ready to head to cheer practice. Oh, and who is this?" Her eyes glimmered as they set upon the toddler in Jack's lap.

Jack smiled, "This is my… sister, Katie."

"Oh, she is just the cutest thing!" The girl's smile brightened. "You know, if you ever need a babysitter I would just love to do it! Let me give you my number." Pulling out a piece of paper, she wrote down the number and handed it to the boy.

Jack took the paper. Man, he should've introduced Katie to Sierra sooner. "I'll… give this to my Mom. She's always looking for a babysitter."

"Oh thank you!"

He was about to say something more, when the group of them were blinded by the headlights of two cars at the parking lot entrance. "Who are…? WHOA!" Jack grabbed the motorcycle's handlebars and Kate as the bike reared up and sped out of the parking lot.

* * *

I ended this one where StarLight did but most of my chapters will end up being longer. I hope you guys like it!

_Psalm 146:9 "The Lord protects the foreigners. He defends the orphans and widows, but he blocks the way of the wicked."_


	2. Chapter 2

Hi everyone! I'm back!

Sorry bout the long wait… pit spawned writer's block was bugging me.

I would like to thank all those who followed and favorited!

I own nothing!

Transformers belongs to Hasbro and Katie Grace to StarLight837!

* * *

**Chapter 2**

The front tire hit the ground hard, jolting Katie and Jack as they zipped across the pavement. Katie let out a high-pitched scream, clutching Jack's arm in a panic. Making sure his foster sister was safe first, he took a glance behind him. His eyes widening as he noticed two identical purple and black cars pursuing them.

"Do not let go!" A female voice came out of nowhere.

"Who said that?!" Jack looked about as the motorcycle increased in speed. The boy finally decided that the voice came from the bike, no matter how ridiculous that sounded.

The two cars sped up, coming up beside them; they slammed together, the bike pulling back just in time. The bike pulled into an alley and slowed down enough for Jack to get off, pulling Katie into his arms. He stared at the bike with wide eyes; Katie on the other hand, didn't seem that surprised.

Jack backed away slowly, "What ARE you?"

"I don't exist," the bike growled as it wheeled closer, "tell anyone about me and I will hunt them down!" Jack backed away, clutching his sister, before turning and making a break for it down the alley. Looking over Jack's shoulder, Katie gave a small wave to the vanishing motorcycle. Her hand stopped as one of the pursuing cars turned down the alley and drove towards them.

"Jack…"

Her foster-brother turned his head, eyes widening at the sight of the cars. He ran hard, barely keeping a hold on his sister. "I don't even know her!" The distance between the strange car and them closed.

Now Katie was frightened; her face buried in the folds of Jack's shirt. Her head perked up at a slightly familiar engine as the blue motorcycle from before drove up alongside them. "Hop on!"

Against his better judgment, the boy reached over with his free hand and grabbed the handlebars, leaping onto the bike's seat. Turning Katie around, setting her right on the seat.

The sped along the road; as they turned sharply onto the freeway, Katie squealed. The bike maneuvered between the cars, with their pursuers always on their tails. Katie clutched at Jack's arm as their pursuers began shooting at them.

The child glanced in the mirror and saw the cars fall back as a black and yellow car bumped into them. "Jack! Look!"

Both children looked back at the car protecting them. "Friend of yours…?"

"Family." Katie wished to inquire more about this but she had to, again, hold tight to Jack as they swerved off the freeway. Jumping off the road, the two screamed as they flew through the air, hitting the ground in a ditch under the bridge.

"Whoa!" Sitting nearby was a young boy with glasses. Jack recognized him as Rafael Esquivel from school.

"You have no idea…" Jack got off the bike, Katie in his arms. The little girl continued to stare at the bike.

The roar of engines drew the three kids' attention as the black and purple cars came down after them; to their utter shock, their gears shifted and they transformed into giant robots. The boys stared in awe and fear as they landed in front of them. The younger girl backed away, but her face didn't show fear, it showed caution.

Behind them, the motorcycle began to crank a whirr as the metal shifted. The trio moved out of the way as a slim female-like robot emerged. Her blue optics narrowed dangerously, "It ends here Cons!" With that, she charged forward, attacking their assailants.

"What are they?" Raf stammered.

Katie seemed like she wanted to answer but couldn't figure out how to say it. Jack spoke instead. "Talking cars that turn into robots… or the other way around." On instinct, he grabbed his foster sister's hand.

A loud bang drew all attention back to the fight as the blue robot hit the ground, and one of the other bots placed a pedde on her chassis.

"No!" The toddler burst forward, running towards the battle.

"Katie!" Pulling her back into his arms, before she got far. "Don't worry, she'll be fine."

Another engine roar drew their attention as the black and yellow muscle car from earlier drove off the bridge down towards them. It also transformed mid-air, into a black and yellow robot. He landed on one of the dark robots.

As the battle continued, the yellow bot received a strong punch to the side of the helm, sending him to the ground. As one of the dark robots transformed his servo into a gun and pointed it at his helm.

Raf gasped, "Leave him alone!"

Both robots pointed their blasters at the three children, who all froze in their tracks. Jack came to his senses first, "Run!" He grabbed both younger children, and pulled them around a corner; his eyes spotted a large culvert. "Get in! Get in!"

The children climbed into the pipe as one of the darker robots came after them. The giant servo coming down the pipe towards the trip. Katie looked back, her eyes widening as she noticed the dark servo right behind them.

She almost screamed but the servo suddenly stopped and drew back. The trio stopped and turned back, a robotic black and yellow face appeared. He beeped and whirred, as if urging them to get to safety.

"Thank you…" The young boy smiled kindly at the bot and Katie gave him a small wave. Jack pushed the two forward to a run. "What did we just see?"

"I don't know and I'm not sure I wanna find out…"

* * *

Optimus stood before a large computer, listening to Arcee and Bumblebee's report of the battle earlier.

"And the Con's would've been scrap if I hadn't been distracted by the humans." The femme huffed in annoyance.

"Humans?" The Prime raised an optic ridge at this bit of information. Bumblebee beeped a few times before Optimus continued, "Two boys…"

"And a femme: a sparkling."

"Sparkling?" Optimus turned around, scrutinizing his soldiers.

Arcee shrugged, "She looked to be and the others acted like she was."

The Autobot leader offlined his optics for a moment before speaking again. "Autobots, if the Decepticons have indeed returned, anyone perceived as our ally will be at great risk, no matter their age."

* * *

The next day, Jack took his free period at the end of the day to go pick up Katie from daycare early. He made sure to get back to the school by the time it let out.

"Now Kate," he knelt down, looking the toddler directly in her blue eyes, "What did we promise about yesterday?"

"Don't tell anyone!"

The boy nodded with a smile, "That's right… now, that boy from yesterday, we need to make him promise too."

"Kay!" Her eyes lit up, "Der he is!" She pointed towards a tree near the road; the younger boy sat there, a laptop on his knees. Letting go of Jack's hand, she tottered over to him, but he was too engrossed in his work to notice her. "Hi!"

The boy jumped. "Oh… Hi! You scared me…"

"Sorry…"

He smiled as Jack approached. "Hey Jack." Closing his laptop, the boy it back into his backpack.

"Hey Raf… um, about yesterday, I think we should just keep it between ourselves."

The boy nodded, but Katie interrupted their thoughts. "Hey! Look!" She pointed as a very familiar yellow and black muscle car pulled up beside them. "Jack! Do you see?" The toddler nearly vibrated with excitement.

"I see…" he pulled her away slowly, but Raf got up, moving forward a few steps. The passenger door swung open invitingly; a beeping and chirping sound came from the car. "It wants us to get in?"

"No, just me." Rafael smiled.

"How can you tell?"

The boy shrugged slightly, "It said so. Yours is over there." He pointed back and both Jack and Katie. "How's it going?" Jack jumped as the younger boy climbed into the car and the door shut. The car drove off with Raf inside.

"No wait!" But they were gone…

Jack took one last look at the bike before lifting Katie into his arms and walking away. The little girl stared at the bike, giving it a small wave before it went out of sight. "Bye…"

The two went down an alleyway, trying to get home quickly. A familiar engine roared in their ears and the blue motorcycle/robot pulled up in front of them with a slim rider on the back. "Hold it," she spoke in a stern voice, "Hey, I just wanna talk."

"Don't you mean you and your new friend?" Jack snapped angrily.

"Listen kid, there's a lot you don't understand." The rider fizzled and disappeared: a hologram. Katie's eyes widened at this.

Jack set his foster sister on the ground before glaring at the bike. "No, I get it; the first rule of 'robot fight club' is that you don't talk about 'robot fight club'." Taking Katie's hand, he turned away, "What you don't understand is that I don't want a bunch of giant robots following us around and trying to get me and, especially, my sister killed!"

He heard metal shifting and he turned around to see the bike in her robot form. "Look, Jack is it? Your and her personal safety is just why Optimus Prime has request your presence and hers." The robot looked down, optics widening as she noticed the toddler slowly coming towards her. Her optics softened at the child's innocence and curiosity.

"Katie!" Jack pulled her back into his arms.

Arcee continued to speak. "You two may be in danger because you are some of the few, the only few, who have ever seen us."

"Dude, what are you waiting for? Go with!" The three looked up and saw a wildly dress teenage girl with black and pink hair.

"Scrap…"

* * *

Katie giggled wildly as the wind blew through her hair and the other teenage girl cheered. Jack seemed to be the only one not very happy.

The desert scenery flew by as they approached a large plateau. Jack looked at the bike's handlebars, "Why did we have to bring her?"

"Rules…" the bike sounded exasperated too.

As they came towards the plateau, the bike did not stop. "Whoa! Whoa!" Katie gave a scream of fright. But the rock opened up to reveal a hidden entrance. As they drove inside, the tunnel spiraled upwards and opened up into a large room. The eyes of the three children widened in amazement.

A large, grumpy looking red and white robot stood over them; nearby was a bulky green robot.

Raf stepped out of the muscle car, his face full of wonder. Jack lifted his sister off the bike, making sure to hold her hand so she wouldn't run off.

"I thought there were three." The red and white one sighed; he clearly didn't like humans.

The bike transformed as did the muscle car. The female bot rolled her optics, "Haven't you heard, humans multiply."

"Hi, I'm Raf!"

"I'm Miko," the wild girl ran towards the large green bot. "What's your name?"

"Uh, Bulkhead…"

The girl became super excited. "I bet you're a truck! A monster truck! Do you like heavy metal? How much do you weigh?"

"Who you?" Katie asked, looking at the other bots.

The female bot gave the toddler a nod. "Call me Arcee."

The yellow one beeped out a reply. Raf translated for him. "He says his name is Bumblebee."

"That's Ratchet," Arcee pointed at the grumpy bot, figuring he wouldn't reply.

"So, if you guys are robots, who made you?"

"Pu-lease…"

The ground shook behind the four children; they turned and saw a red and blue bot coming up behind them. Katie took a couple steps forward, feeling that he was someone she could trust. The robot looked down at them before answering, "We are autonomous robotic organisms from the planet Cybertron, also known as Autobots.

"Why are you here?

"To protect your planet from the Decepticons…"

Arcee explained, "The jokers who tried to bump us off last night."

"Ok," Jack nodded slightly, "but why are they here?"

"A fair question, Jack," the titan knelt down closer to them, "Partly because our planet is uninhabitable, ravaged by centuries of civil war."

Katie cocked her head at the unfamiliar word. Slipping out her brother's grip, she approached the robot slowly. "What's war?"

Optimus's optics slightly widened at the youngest child. She was the sparkling; he had not expected her to be so young, or so small. However, she acted less frightened than the older ones; perhaps it was because she didn't fully understand, Optimus couldn't tell. He would have to speak with her later.

"Katie…" Jack came forward, picking her up. "War is when a lot of people… or robots… fight for a long time."

It took her a moment, but her eyes quickly lit up with realization; her attention turned back to the robot. "Why you fighting?"

"Foremost, over control of our world's supply of Energon, the lifeblood of all Autobots and Decepticons alike. The combat was fierce and endured for centuries. In the beginning, I fought alongside one whom I considered a brother; but in war, ideals can be corrupted. It was thus that Megatron lost his way."

Katie looked to her brother for an explanation. Jack shook his head before speaking to her quietly, "Um, they were fighting over the stuff the keeps them alive. The fighting lasted for a long time. He and a friend fought together but the friend… turned bad."

"Oh…" Arcee, Bumblebee, and Bulkhead chuckled at the little girl as she got this very simple explanation. Even Optimus gave a small smile.

"So," Raf asked timidly, "what does Megatron and all this have to do with us?"

"Megatron has not been seen or heard from in some time, but if his return is eminent, as I fear, it could be catastrophic." It didn't take much for Katie to tell that this Megatron was the friend who turned bad. "As you now know of our existence, I fear, as of last night, the Decepticons know of yours."

Jack sighed, "Got it. If we see any strange vehicles call 911. Can we go now?" Katie glared at her brother for asking this.

"Are you insane?" Miko exclaimed, "I'm living in Botswana here and I'm not gonna let you, or anyone else shatter it!"

The red and blue titan vented, "For now, it is best that you remain under our watch, at least until we know our enemy's intentions.

Katie squirmed in Jack's arms until he set her down; once free, she trotted towards the bot. "What you name?"

"I," he stood up to his full height, "am Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots."

The child giggled happily, "My name's Katie!"

"Optimus," Ratchet vented, "The children are in as much danger here as anywhere. They have no protective shell; if they get underfoot… they will go, squish." All four kids stepped back as he stepped forward a bit.

Katie stumbled backwards, bumping into Arcee's pedde; the femme reached down to stabilize the toddler. "There ya go…"

"Then for the time being, we must watch where we step." The Prime informed the other bot.

Suddenly, a loud alarm resounded about the base, along with a flashing green light. All the humans jumped, looking around. "What dat?"

Bumblebee whirled and beeped; Raf translated, "Proximity sensors, someone's up top."

On the screen appeared a man in a business suit. "It's Agent Fowler."

"Wait, I thought we were the only humans who knew about you guys?"

Optimus answered Jack's question, "Agent Fowler is our designated liaison to the outside world. As he tends to visit only when there are issues. It is best that you do not meet him at this time." The three older kids ran behind the balcony; Katie, however, looked about, trying to find a place to hide. Glancing about, the toddler tottered behind Optimus Prime's right pedde.

The Prime looked downwards, inwardly chuckling. Bending down, he scooped her into his palm and handed her to Arcee. The femme gave her back to her brother. "Not a good idea to hide behind someone's foot, kid."

The elevator door, up on the balcony swished open. "Seven wrecks, thirty-four fender-benders, and a particular note about a speeding motorcycle of unknown make and a custom-made black and yellow muscle car!" He glared at Arcee and Bumblebee as they avoided his gaze. "So, anything you'd care to get off your tin chest, Prime?"

Prime leaned forward and looked into the agent's face, "We have the situation under control, Agent Fowler."

"They're back," Fowler said in a much calmer voice, "aren't they?"

"If you are referring to the Decepticons, I have my doubts that they had ever left. Your planet is much too valuable."

"Then it's time to wake up the Pentagon!"

Optimus's voice grew into a demanding tone as his optics narrowed, "Hear me, Agent Fowler; we are your best, possibly your only, defense against the Decepticon threat."

"Says you!"

Now Bulkhead joined in the conversation, "Hey fleshy! Did anyone get splattered on that freeway? Team Prime knows when to use force." He grabbed a tool off the balcony; as he crushed it he said, "And how much to use."

"Bulkhead!" yelled Ratchet, "I needed that!"

"Enough," demanded Prime, "Military involvement will only result in human catastrophe. Perhaps you can condone widespread human casualties, Agent Fowler. I, however, cannot."

Fowler boldly growled at him, "Then do us all a favor, Prime, and handle this under the radar… or I will!" With that, he went into the elevator and took off.

"Him mean," all optics turned to the toddler, who was just coming out from hiding.

Jack picked her up gently, "Yea he is…"

The kids jumped as a high-pitched beep echoed throughout the room. Ratchet turned to the computer and groaned, "Blasted Earth tech! Cliffjumper's signal just came back online." His digits danced furiously across the controls.

"Who's that?"

Miko's comment went ignored. "How is this possible?"

"It isn't," the medic vented, "Another bug, the system's chocked full of them."

"If there's any chance Cliff's alive…" Arcee's optics glowed with hope.

The Prime turned to Ratchet, "Ratchet, prepare the medbay… we may need it."

"Can we come?" Katie stood right below Optimus, big blue eyes staring up at him.

Bending down, he gently pushed her to Jack. "Remain with Ratchet."

A large round opening in the wall, suddenly, swirled to life, a greenish glow swirling about. The four children backed away in amazement.

The bot's transformed into their alt modes; two of them were the familiar motorcycle and the muscle car. Optimus Prime turned into a large semi-truck while Bulkhead transformed into a large green SUV. They drove into the swirling green portal and vanished.

* * *

I hope you guys enjoyed this!

I know Katie doesn't act scared like a little child should, but I did that on purpose. Why? You'll have to wait and see.

* * *

_"__I took my troubles to the Lord; I cried out to him, and he answered my prayer."_

Psalm 120:1 NLT


	3. Chapter 3

Sorry this took a good long time but I've got five things to write (four fanfics and my first novel). I post them in a system: KH3: Final Stand, Re: Katie Grace, DC Takeover, then Transformers Legacy. I go through the cycle as I post. So please be patient with me.

I would like to thank everyone who followed and favorited this story!

I own nothing!

Transformers belongs to Hasbro!

Katie belongs to StarLight837!

Please review!

* * *

**Chapter 3**

* * *

Jack pointed towards the place where the swirling green tunnel had been. "W…what was that?"

"A groundbridge…"

"Wat dat?" the robot's optics fixed on the youngest child, who stared up at him.

He sighed, "It's a scaled-down version of space bridge technology." The kids looked at him as if he was speaking a foreign language. "Uh… it sends you places…"

Katie walked about the base, hands clasped behind her back. She reached out for a small computer terminal, "Wat dis?"

"Broken, don't touch." The red medic called back.

Ratchet stopped working as the toddler came up onto the catwalk and watched him. "Wat you doing?"

"None of your…" a transmission from Optimus stopped him.

_Ratchet, open the groundbridge to the arrival coordinates… NOW! _

The swirling portal opened again and the bots drove in, an explosion coming up behind them. Optimus came last, the explosion right at his back bumper. He had no time to slow down as the bridge closed; he transformed and skidded to a stop, his metal body smoking from the explosion.

"Whoa…"

"Cutting it a bit close…"

Miko ran forward, eyes aglow. "Was that an explosion? Can I come next time?"

A glare from Arcee caused Jack to grab the girl's arm and pull her away. "Come on, Miko, let's see what the bots hide in their sock drawers…"

"Seriously…"

Optimus looked at the blue femme sadly, "Arcee, what did you see?"

"Not Cliff," the two-wheeler wrapped her arms about herself, "at least, not anymore. He was mutated… butchered… like something from those Con experiments during the war." Then, her legs buckled beneath her, and she collapsed.

"Cee!" Katie ran to the catwalk rail.

"I'm fine…" Arcee sat on a large crate as Ratchet began scanning her form, "just dizzy."

At this, the older kids' eyes opened to the full truth. "Robots who get dizzy…"

"Robots with emotion…"

"Robots who can die…"

As Ratchet continued to scan the femme, Arcee felt someone touch her shoulder plating. She turned her helm to see Katie, reaching under the bottom rung of the railing, balancing precariously on the edge of the catwalk. Her little hand reached out, touching her shoulder plating comfortingly.

Ratchet noticed a strange purple substance on her knee, he scraped some off onto a petri dish before ordering the femme, "Go take a decontamination bath now."

"Um," Jack cut in, "Optimus, I hate to but in… no bars." He held up his cell phone.

The Autobot leader looked down at the humans, more specifically, at the youngest. "A security precaution; the silo walls isolate all radio waves."

"Well, if I don't call my Mom soon, I'm sure the cops'll be out looking for me."

"Have you broken a law?"

"Curfew…" the boy scratched the back of his head, "It's past 10 PM and my Mom will flip if I don't get Katie home." He looked towards the toddler who sat by his feet, half asleep."

"And if I'm not home soon, I'll be grounded for a year." Raf cut in.

Optimus mused for a moment, "Human customs… I had not considered… but your safety remains paramount. Bulkhead…" he looked to the bulky green bot, "accompany Miko home."

"Sweet! My host parents will freak!"

"And maintain covert surveillance, in vehicular mode." The Autobot leader continued.

Bulkhead smiled, "Curbside duty… got it."

"Awww."

Turning to the yellow scout, the leader spoke. "Bumblebee will accompany Rafael home." The two smiled silently at one another.

"Ratchet…"

"Busy!"

"Arcee…"

The femme swayed dramatically, "Still dizzy."

"You're fine," the red and white medic spoke up, "says your physician."

Optimus nodded, "You will watch over Jack. I will accompany you to the Darby residence to watch over Katie."

"Optimus!"

"But Optimus," Acree stepped forward, "Who will watch the base? It's alright, I can watch over both of them."

"My decision still stands. Ratchet is more than capable of watching the base." Reaching down, he gently scooped the toddler into his giant servo before transforming around her into a blue and red eighteen wheeler. Jack came down from the catwalk and neared the truck; the passenger door swung open. Jack breathed a sigh of relief as he saw Katie asleep in the seat, the seat itself leaned back at an incline, and the seatbelt wrapped lightly across her.

Leaving the truck, feeling that Katie would be perfectly safe with Optimus, he climbed onto Arcee. Minutes later, the truck, motorcycle, SUV, and Camero drove out of the base towards Jasper.

* * *

As Optimus pulled up before the Darby house and stopped. He turned his attention to the small figure in the passenger seat as Katie awoke.

Katie cringed in the dark and unfamiliar surroundings. Her eyes filling with tears as she began to whimper. "It's all right, little one," Optimus told her calmly, "you are not alone or in the presence of an enemy." The child just curled up, eyes brimming with tears. Optimus inwardly stiffened, not knowing what to do.

He felt somewhat relieved as Jack opened the passenger door; the boy noticed that the truck seemed sort of rigid, if a truck could look as such, and when he opened the door, he saw why. Taking his sister into his arms, he smiled at the titan. "Sorry, she gets a little moody when she's sleepy."

"No sleepy…"

"Course you're not," Jack smiled, cuddling his sister to his chest. "Good night, Optimus."

"Good night, Jack." Watching as the older boy entered the house with his the youngest child, he drove back to base.

* * *

Jack meant to speak with Arcee about what he witnessed earlier and he was sure it would be a slightly heated conversation, but he needed to put Katie to bed first. As he laid her in bed, he mentally slapped himself; how was he ever going to explain this to his mom? He hoped she would be understanding, but highly doubted it.

Even he doubted sticking around with these 'Autobots' but his sister's excitement and joy was enough to make him stay, and even he saw this as an opportunity to do and see things no one else would.

Maybe these bots would change their lives, for the better.

* * *

Katie awoke the next morning to the sound of a revving engine; a moment later, Jack came into her room. "Time to go Katie…"

"To see bots?"

"Yep…"

The little girl leapt out of bed and changed swiftly into some regular clothes before running down to the garage where Arcee sat. Jack followed behind a little more slowly.

"Jack," the femme said as the two got on, "we're going to meet Optimus at a park and let him take charge of Katie and then, how bout a ride… just for fun?"

The boy nodded, "That sounds good." The engine revved again and the three set off.

Katie giggled as the world rushed past, and then, as they entered the park, she spotted the red and blue semi. "Oppie!"

"Good morning to you, Katie." The leader inwardly chuckled as the tiny child nearly leapt off the bike and scampered across the grass to him. He opened the door as she slowly climbed her way into the cab, waving at her brother and Arcee before they took off.

"What we gonna do, Oppie?" Katie nearly vibrated with excitement.

"First we are going back to the base to check on Ratchet; after that, we'll see." The semi rolled onto the road and headed off to base.

* * *

They entered the base and saw, instantly, that something was amiss. Ratchet swung a wrench at a small yet vicious robot. Optimus transformed, Katie ending up in his right servo as his left transformed into a blaster and destroyed the tiny attacker.

Ratchet vented in relief before turning to the two new arrivals. Optimus set his charge on the ground before the medic spoke. "Now what could have caused that?"

"Smokey…" the attention of the two bots went to the toddler who's curiosity brought her closer and closer to the small, smoking, twisted body of the attacker. Suddenly, the thing leapt to life again, skittering towards Katie.

"Katie!"

The toddler screamed as it came closer. "Bad buggie! Bad!" It raised a razor sharp leg to cut into the toddler before it began to short circuit, and just fell over.

Optimus ran over and swiftly drew the girl into his palm, holding her close to his chassis as the child sobbed in fear.

"What made it stop? I was sure it was going to…"

"While I have no insight on how it was destroyed," the leader interrupted, not wishing to hear anything of Katie's near demise, "I do believe I know what caused it to come to life: Dark Energon." Little Katie looked up at her guardian in concern; the dark tone of his voice frightened her. As she squished closer to his chassis Optimus looked down in concern. He changed the tone of his voice to a lighter one, for her sake. "If the residue found by Arcee on Cliffjumper brought your broken equipment to life, if would stand to reason that the very same substance brought Cliffjumper back from the dead."

Ratchet glanced at the little girl before turning his gaze back to their leader. "But, Dark Energon is so scarce as to be virtually nonexistent. What would it be doing on earth?"

"It was transported… by Megatron."

"For what purpose?"

Optimus gently wrapped his servo comfortingly about the little human in it as he continued, "To conquer this world, by raising an army of the dead." Placing the child on his shoulder plating and allowing her to get a good hold before moving to pick up what remained of the metal creature. He placed it in a canister and out of sight.

"Well," Ratchet chuckled lightly, "Megatron will need to break quite a few toaster ovens. I mean, where on this world would he find that many Cybertronian dead?"

Optimus didn't have time to answer before the other bots drove into the base with their human charges. All seemed like they had a great time; Miko even brought her electric guitar with her.

Quickly forgetting her near death experience, Katie giggled at the sight of the others. "Hi brother!"

"Hi Katie!"

"Autobots," Optimus called, "prepare to…" his optics turned to the humans, specifically the little one on his shoulder plating.

"Roll out…?"

Looking at his soldiers, he vented, "Remain here." He handed Arcee the toddler before turning to the medic. "Ratchet, you will join me. Arcee, we will be out of communications range for some time; I am putting you in charge."

Miko looked up to her guardian, "Dude! You're the biggest; you should be in charge."

"He uh… he never picks me."

"Optimus, with all due respect, playing bodyguard is one thing, but babysitting!" Venting annoyed as she set Katie down. "Besides, Ratchet hasn't been on the field since the beginning of the war."

"My pistons my by rusty but my hearing is as sharp as ever."

Optimus looked down at his charge who came tottering up to his pedde as if to ask 'can I come', then he turned his gaze to the blue femme. "For the moment, it is only reconnaissance."

"Then why do I hear an edge in your voice?"

"Arcee," he told her, slightly sternly, "much has changed in the last twenty-four hours and we all need to adapt." Turning back to the medic who stood by the ground bridge controls, he ordered, "Ratchet, bridge us out." With a flip of the switch, the swirling portal opened and the two entered.

"So, what's on the activities list?" Jack looked up at his guardian.

Arcee growled, "I'm going on patrol… Bee you're with me." The yellow bot whirred in angst.

"But Optimus told us to stay put."

"When you're in charge, you can call the shots. Bulkhead you're in charge." She and Bumblebee transformed and sped out of base.

Bulkhead, clearly not knowing what to do, looked to Jack, "So, what's on the activities list…?"

A squealing caused them all to cover their ears/audio receptors. "How bout, band practice!" Miko had her electric guitar plugged in and strummed a few chords.

"But we're not a band…"

"Why so antisocial, Raf?" The wild girl exclaimed, "you play anything?"

The preteen picked up his laptop slowly. "Uh… keyboard…"

"Laptops and samples! Great!" Miko ran up to the large bot. "Bulkhead! Percussion! I'm going for a big industrial sound!"

"Uh…"

She looked over at Jack, "What about you?"

"I mess around sometimes on the harmonica."

"Do I look like country?" She scowled, "Just cover yourself and fake blood and jump around screaming." All raised an eyebrow/optic ridge at this; Miko's brown eyes looked too little Katie. "What can she do?"

"Oh no!" Jack picked Katie up and held her close, "You are leaving my little sister out of this. I draw the line there!"

"Fine… whatever…" She strummed her guitar and smiled, "Now you just have to learn the songs. This one is called 'My Fist, Your Face'." The squealing guitar filled the base. All tried to block out the noise.

Over the so called 'music', came a flashing green light and the same proximity sensor from the night before. "Hey, quiet… quiet!"

"What?" Miko whined, "You can't handle raw power?"

Ignoring her, Bulkhead went to the computer and activated to the security sensors atop the base. His optics widened, "Proximity sensors! Quick hide!" Jack and the others jumped behind Bulkhead's pedde, however, Miko still held onto her electric guitar.

"PRIME!" The elevator door swished open and Agent Fowler strode in angrily.

"Agent Fowler!" Bulkhead shifted his peddes to hide the four kids, "He… He's not here… nobody's here… except me of course…"

"Well, where is he… no, don't tell me, he's out pancaking a mini-mall." His blatant fury made the kids pull back behind the bot's pedde even further, but this made Miko's guitar squeal. The agent didn't seem to notice it. "Now, I don't know what language you bots speak on your planet, but Prime promised he'd handle of the Decepticons. And blowing a hole IN THE MIDDLE OF NEBRASKA is not what the word 'handle' means in English! So you tell Prime…" Miko's guitar squealed again, and the special agent noticed the cord going from the amp to Bulkhead's pedde. "… Since when are you bots electric?"

The three older kids froze while Katie stifled a giggle. Jack, with Katie in his arms, stepped into the open, with the other two following. "Hey…"

"Contact with civilians!" Fowlers face began to turn red with fury. "Team Prime has really gone off the books this time!" His eyes widened as he noticed the youngest one, in her brother's arms. "No, don't tell me… you're running a daycare center."

"We're interns!"

"Student interns!"

"Earning extra-credit in…"

"Auto shop!"

"Robotics!"

Katie cocked her head at the other three children. "Huh…?"

Fowler hung his head and sighed in exasperation. "Ok… let's move. I'm taking the four of you into federal custody, for your own protection."

Acting quickly, Bulkhead slammed his foot between the children the special agent. "We're protecting them!"

"Is that so? Then maybe, you can explain that to my superiors at the Pentagon." He reached for a nearby landline phone.

"Don't use that phone! It's…" Bulk reached down and crushed the phone box with his large digit, "… out of order."

Fowler growled before yelling, "This isn't over, big foot! Not by a long shot!" He stomped out, and took off in his helicopter.

"Meanie!" the little girl blew a loud raspberry at the elevator where Fowler just went into.

"You said it, shorty."

The green bot vented, "We're gonna be in a lot of trouble for this…"

"Oh yea…"

* * *

Katie squealed in alarm as a high pitched alarm echoed through the base.

"OW!" Raf grimaced, "my ears!"

Lumbering over to the compute, Bulkhead exclaimed. "It's an SOS! From Fowler!" He paused before touching a few keys on the computer. The alarm stopped and the data vanished from the screen.

"Did you track it?"

"Location scan was incomplete…" the bot shrugged, "Oh well…"

"Oh well?!"

Little Katie placed her hand on the bot's pedde, "We got help him!"

"Fowler's a jerk!"

Jack gaped at this, "Whether you like the guy or not, the Decepticons may have him!"

"And Agent Fowler knows your location," the preteen gulped nervously, "… our location!"

"And did we not just see how fast he backed away from a bot!" Miko exclaimed, "The Con's will totally make him squeal!"

"But the transmission was lost, he could be anywhere!"

Raf pushed his glasses up before sitting down and powering up his laptop. "Maybe I can narrow it down. About two years ago, the government started micro-chipping their agents, you know, like owners do with pets." All looked at him in disbelief, except for Katie who was just confused. The boy looked up and shrugged, "What? I saw it on TV… anyways, if I can hack into the Fed's mainframe, I might be able to pinpoint his location."

"You know how to hack? But you're like three years old…"

"Twelve," the boy corrected with a smirk, "and a quarter. Katie's three…"

She giggled, "Yep, yep, yep!"

* * *

"Latitude thirty-nine point five," the boy called out after a few tense minutes of typing, "longitude one hundred sixteen point nine."

Bulkhead pulled the lever, activating the groundbridge. "Stay here…"

"Aw!" Miko whined, "Don't break up the band!"

"Uh, Jack, you're in charge," the green wrecker charged through the bridge and vanished.

The boy sighed, "Well, looks like we four have run of the place… uh, Miko, Katie?" Turning about, looking for the two girls, but they were nowhere to be found.

* * *

Bulkhead came out of the bridge in a large ravine, the large black Decepticon warship hovering nearby; guards paced about the top and below the ship, looking for any sign of the enemy. He gave a low whistle, "Looks like we found the whole Decepticon shebang."

"All right," a familiar female voice exclaimed quietly, "What's the plan?" Miko and Katie stood behind a rock nearby.

"Miko! Katie!"

The two girls weren't as hidden as they thought; a guard came nearby and spotted the two. His blaster charged up and pointed at the two girls. Miko grabbed the toddler and they jumped out of the way, as the blasts came close.

Bulkhead quickly jumped into action, punching the guard as the girls hid behind a rock. He gripped the Vehicon hard before turning his helm towards the girls. "Miko! Katie! Turn your heads away!"

"But…"

"Turn your heads away!" His servo drove into the Vehicon's chassis, violently pulling out his inner wiring.

Miko quickly covered the toddler's eyes before her own widened in amazement and excitement. "Whoa!"

"Eep!" the little girl squeaked as the hand came off her eyes and she saw the offlined trooper.

Bulkhead looked at the internal wiring in his clasped servo and back at the girls, "Uhh…"

* * *

Arcee and Bumblebee sped along the road. Bulkhead's voice soon came over the comlink. _*Arcee Bumblebee, do you read?* _

"Loud and clear, Bulkhead," the femme vented, wondering what in the universe could he need.

_*I have a situation…*_

"Bulkhead…"she inwardly rolled her optics, "they're humans… younglings, and one is only a sparkling. Just do… whatever…" The two bots skidded to a halt as his reply came in. "YOU'RE WHERE? THEY'RE WHERE?"

* * *

Raf pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, "What should we do? He may not have even realized that they followed him."

"Miko hasn't seen the Cons in action like we have," Jack paced, his breath coming nervously as his thoughts went rampant, "And Katie… oh Katie… she'll be…" He plopped on the railing, head in his hands.

Raf typed on the computer before turning to him. "These are the coordinates, their destination is still locked in."

Jack sighed nervously as he went down towards the groundbridge opening. "Uh… you're in charge."

"In charge of who?" The preteen activated the bridge and charged down the stairs beside Jack. The portal opened and the two walked through.

* * *

Bulkhead stood behind a rock with the two human femmes. "I wonder what's taking Arcee and Bumblebee…"

The three turned and saw the groundbridge open; the robot's facial plating fell as he saw it was not his backup, but the two human boys.

"Whoa…" Raf shuddered as they came out, "Are your bones vibrating?"

Jack didn't have time to answer. The guards on the ship spotted them, pointing their blasters at them.

"Scrap…"

Katie's blue eyes widened, "Brother!"

* * *

It's not much of a cliffhanger since we all know what happens in the story, but yea.

After Darkness rising will thing get a little crazier and different but I think you guys will like it.

_"But joyful are those who have the God of Israel as their helper, whose hope is in the Lord their God" –Psalms 146:5_


	4. Chapter 4

Hey everyone!

This is a pretty long chapter, only because I didn't want to stick in Darkness Rising forever and just wanted to get to the other episodes.

I would like to thank all those who favorited, followed, and reviewed!

I own nothing!

Transformers belongs to Hasbro!

Katie belongs to StarLight837!

* * *

**Chapter 4**

The two boys stumbled back as the Decepticons fired upon them. Bulkhead transformed, allowing the two girls entry, before driving out to the two boys. Jack and Raf wasted no time in climbing into the SUV.

Jack sunk into the seat with relief, "Thanks Bulkhead."

"What are you two doing here?" The bot vented in exasperation as he drove.

"We were worried about Miko and Katie. Have you seen them?"

"What do they look like?" The boys turn and saw the two girls looking at them from the back seat.

Skidding to a stop behind a large boulder, Bulkhead opened the doors. "Everybody out, and this time PLEASE wait here."

Raf jumped out as Jack reached into the back seat, lifting out his little sister and setting her on the ground. As Bulkhead sped off, Jack sunk to his knees and pulled his baby sister into a hug. Katie looked at him, genuinely worried, "You hurt?"

"Huh?" Jack pulled back, smiling as his sister before dryly chuckling, "I'm fine, but I should be the one asking you that." Katie just giggled and hugged him back.

"Where's Miko?" the younger boy's voice cut into their thoughts. The three looked around and noticed the Japanese girl missing. Turning towards the warship, where Bulkhead now stood upon the deck, they could see the bot looking down at them. The trio on the ground could barely see the bot pull Miko out of a compartment in his chassis.

When more Deceptions began to attack the two upon the ship, Bulkhead took Miko inside and vanished from sight.

"Think they forgot about us?" Raf turned his gaze to the oldest boy. Jack shrugged and opened his mouth to answer, but stopped when two tall shadows fell over them

* * *

Katie squirmed in the large servo that held her; she could see her brother in the grasp of the same Decepticon and Raf in the servo of another. Her movement caused her captor to tighten his grip.

"We'll take them to the brig," the Con holding Raf spoke, "Commander Starscream is keeping the other human there."

As they reached an intersection in the halls, the loud noise of two engines reverberated around them. Before the Decepticons knew what happened, a yellow and black car slammed into them, knocking them to the ground and sending the three humans airborne.

Bumblebee transformed, catching Raf, while Arcee transformed and caught Jack and Katie in her servos. As the femme set the older boy down, Katie squeaked happily. "Cee!"

The femme slightly smirked down at the toddler in her grasp before looking to her brother, "Appreciate you clearing the front door for us, but storming the Decepticon warship was not on the activities list."

"What 'tivities list?" Katie exclaimed.

* * *

Katie rested in her brother's arms as they followed the two bots through the dark maze of corridors. Arcee skidded to a stop by a corner, readying her blaster before turning around it.

"Friendly!" She exclaimed as she found Bulkhead's blaster pointed at her.

"Hello!"

The femme gave him a deep glare, "Brought the humans, huh?"

"You try getting them to stay behind!"

Arcee vented before lowering her gun and turning it back into a servo. "We need to find Fowler and get these kids outta here."

"Uh… he's in the brig…"

* * *

Jack's mom always made him carry a bandana in his pocket to wipe the oil from his motorcycle off his hands; Jack found if ridiculous normally, but now he was glad of it. As the Decepticons charged them and the Autobots began offlining them in combat, he took the bandana and wrapped it about his sister's eyes.

He may see carnage but he would not allow Katie to see such violence.

The toddler clung close to her brother, knowing nothing but loud noises and obscure movements beyond the blindfold as Jack carried her about.

* * *

"Clear!" Arcee glanced around a room, a room that Vehicons previously occupied. Said Vehicons were now offline by the servos of the Autobots. Ushering the four children inside, the femme ordered, "Wait in here." Bumblebee warbled and beeped in question. She rolled her optics, venting, "They're slowing us down and they're easy targets. They'll be alright in here as long as they stay put."

Closing the door, the four children remained alone. Jack set Katie on the ground before taking off the blindfold; Katie squeaked, as the first sight she saw was an offlined Vehicon.

"Katie," Jack quickly fibbed, "they're sleeping so we have to be quiet." The toddler nodded but her eyes told that she didn't quite believe him.

Miko grinned wildly, "That was intense!"

"Intense!" Jack stood, his sister wincing from his sudden sharp tone. "It's your fault that we're stuck in this intensity! What were you thinking?"

"Did I ask you to follow me?"

"Didn't you want us to be a band? Doesn't that usually mean playing together?"

"Well, maybe I decided to go solo!"

"Well, maybe I have some regard for your personal safety!"

"Is your name Optimus?" The wild girl spat back, "You can leave my protection to Bulkhead and just worry about Katie!"

"STOP IT! BOTH OF YOU!" Raf interrupted at a yell. He sprinted away and sat at a small drop-off, legs dangling over the side.

Jack looked to his sister, whose eyes glittered with tears, before picking her up and cuddling her with a reassuring air. He and Miko approached Raf before sitting beside him. "Hey, it's gonna be ok, Raf."

"Yeah! Our Bots'll come back for us!" Miko smiled, "They're gonna take us home."

"How do you know?"

Both teens shared an uncertain gazed, for they could not truly answer the question. "Dey will…" the three older kids looked at Katie. "Cee, Bee, and Bulk are friends! Dey no weave us!"

The younger boy smiled at this; Jack ruffled his sister's hair proudly before looking up at a screen. "Hey Raf, what do you make of this?"

"It's important," he said after staring as the strange writing, "real important…"

"How do you know it isn't just a recipe for space nachos?"

The boy pushed his glasses up, "I know math when I see it and this is one serious equation. We have to get this to Optimus!"

"Can you download it or something?"

Taking off his backpack, the boy pulled out a flash drive. "I've got a flash drive but I don't see a port. This tech is way alien."

Katie began to look around as the ground began to vibrate. Her eyes widened as a Decepticon entered the room; he stopped, taking in the scene of all his offlined comrades. "Jack…" The toddler tugged upon his pants leg and her brother turned.

His eyes met the visor of the Vehicon before he cried out, "Guys, Run!" He pushed the older two forward before turning back and seeing his sister sprinting off in the opposite direction. "KATIE!" Jack broke from his spot and dashed after Katie. He ran after her, drawing her into his arms quickly. "Miko!" turning his head back to the other two he yelled, "Take a picture!"

"Great idea!" She pulled out her phone and snapped a quick picture of the Vehicon, "Hey!"

"Not of that, of THAT!"

The girl made an 'o' with her mouth before taking a picture of the mathematical equation. The kids all made a dash for the door and went between the Con's legs. The Vehicon came after them, but a laser blast hit him in the chassis and snuffed his spark.

Arcee, Bumblebee, and Bulkhead sped down the hall towards them. They pulled up to a stop, allowing the kids to get in. "I told you to stay put!"

"Sorry…" Katie whimpered as she and Jack got on her. With that they all drove away

* * *

Back at base, a dreadful silence filled the air cut only by the sound of a welder, which Optimus used to attach a brace to his medic's arm. Katie clung to her brother's leg, waiting for her guardian to finish and pay her some attention.

She smiled slightly as his optics turned towards her, but the slight fear from her experience remained. Jack looked at the Autobot leader, "So, what happened to you guys?"

"We engaged an army of the undead…"

"Zombies!" Miko's eyes lit up, "You fought zombies and I missed it!"

"Bulkhead", Optimus set down the welder and looked to his charge. "You exercised extremely poor judgment in allowing the children to accompany you." He had to keep his optics from shuddering. Katie had been abnormally quiet since they returned, and her eyes still retained a bit of fear from her experience. His guilt grew as she smiled at him; he was her guardian and should've been there to protect her.

"It won't happen again Optimus, I promise."

"But it wasn't Bulkhead's fault!" Miko cut in. She quickly pulled out her cellphone and smiled. "And check it out! Recon!" She held up the phone as Optimus bent over to look at the photo displayed on the screen.

"Ratchet, take a look at this. It may be of some importance to Megatron."

The medic looked blankly at the photo, "I… don't understand."

Miko turned the phone around, before waving it off, "Oh, that's just the Con that tried to blow Katie away… at least is was before Bulkhead rearranged his grill!" She changed the photo back.

Optimus flinched slightly as he glanced back to the toddler. She now came closer, a little more relaxed than before, but still visibly frightened. Had she really been that close to dying?

"Miko," Jack exclaimed angrily, "Katie was almost killed! This isn't a game; when are you going to get that through your thick skull?"

"Um, we were all almost killed. You, me, Raf, Katie, even them!" Her finger pointed to the large robots nearby.

Jack glared at her before taking his sister's hand in his. "Well, if this is an average day with the Autobots, then I don't want to be a part of it! And neither will Katie!"

"Wha'?" The little girl's mind looked at her brother, not understanding the situation.

"Jack, putting either of you in harm's way was never our intent," the titan vented, optics fixed on the two, specifically on Katie. "However, it is no longer the safety of only you four that is at risk, but the safety of all humankind. We will respect your decision if you wish to leave."

All could hear the groundbridge whirl to life by Ratchet's servo. "No point in long goodbyes, here's the door."

"Come on, Raf," Jack motioned to the younger boy.

Bumblebee warbled sadly, his doorwings lowered in sadness. The boy looked to his guardian before replying, "I'll be ok; see you at school."

Jack stared at him for a moment before leading his sister towards the groundbridge. A slim blue pedde blocked their path for a moment; Jack looked up at Arcee. "We know, you don't exist."

"Don't make me hunt you down…"

Jack began to walk again but stopped when his sister tugged on his pants leg. "Where we goin'?"

"Home…"

"Comin' back?"

Jack sighed, "I don't think so, Katie."

The little girl's eyes widened and she suddenly jerked against her brother. "No!" Pulling out of his grip, she skittered over to Optimus's pedde, wrapping her arms about it as best she could. "Stay!" Her blue eyes looking pleadingly up at the Prime. "Don' let'm ge' me!"

Jack, wordlessly walked over to his sister, picking her up, despite her thrashing. As they neared the portal, Katie screamed out, "Oppie! Don' let 'im take me!"

The two vanished, leaving Optimus spark-broken at the sight of Katie's desperation.

* * *

Katie lay in bed, clutching her favorite stuffed cat, tears staining her pillow. She lay so that she could see the street though her window, hoping to see Optimus drive up. As the hours passed and he didn't show, Katie cried even more, finally drifting off to sleep.

* * *

"Come on Kate," Jack carried his sister in his arms as they approached KO Burger. "You're hanging with me today." He tried to smile comfortingly but all he received back was an angry glare. "Hey, we never got to go see _Frozen_, do you wanna go see it after I finish work?"

"No!"

"Come on Kate, it'll be fu…"

"No!"

The two stopped arguing as another voice cut in. "I'd listen to her." Both turned to see a familiar blue motorcycle.

"Cee!" Katie rushed forward, crashing into the bike's front tire. Venting, the femme rolled forward, nudging the toddler gently.

"Arcee, really, Miko already tried," Katie looked back; she didn't know Miko had visited. "Tell Optimus that I respect him big time, but, if you're at war with the Decepticons, there's nothing I can do to help. And I definitely don't want my baby sister mixed up in it.

The motorcycle vented, "Optimus didn't send me, and no one's asking for your help."

"Ok, so if we both agree that I'm not 'warrior material' and Katie is especially not…

"Jack," the femme returned softly, "I just lost someone I cared about. Maybe it's the grief talking; maybe you're growing on me but… whatever it is, I'm just not ready to say goodbye." Her sensors turned to the younger child. "And neither is Optimus."

* * *

The bike sped into the base, pulling to a stop in the gaze of the others. Jack undid his sister's helmet and set her down before bothering with his own.

The moment Katie's feet touched the floor, she broke into a sprint with an excited squeal. "OPPIE!" Slamming into his pedde she clutched a crack in his armor as if it was a lifeline. "No' gonna leave."

His facial plating melted into a soft smile as he bent down and placed a digit lightly on her back. The child looked up at him, eyes glimmering happily. Picking her up and setting her near her brother, he told her, "Wait with Jack."

"Kay!" She skipped over to Jack, latching onto his leg.

"Autobots," Optimus quickly regained his rigid posture, "prepare for departure."

"Where to?" Arcee asked with her helm cocked.

"The final frontier," Miko said it as if she was doing the intro to _Star Trek_.

Jack picked up Katie as his eyebrow raised in question. "Space? I thought they didn't have any way to get there."

"They don't… really."

Jack looked up to his guardian, "Be seein' ya then…"

She nodded before joining the others near the bridge.

As the Autobots filed through the portal, the medic stopped his leader, "Optimus, if you leave me stranded on a planet teaming with humans, I will never forgive you."

"Until we meet again, old friend," he nodded and spared his sparkling charge one last glance before leaving.

* * *

Katie listened closely as the voices of Optimus and the others came over the comlink.

_'Well'_ Arcee asked, irately, _'What're they waiting for?'_

_'It appears the Decepticons have sustained severe damage to their interstellar navigation systems'_

_'Hey, that's my handy work!'_ Bulkhead's voice exclaimed.

_'Good job, Bulkhead. Without the disk, the Decepticons will be unable to aim their spacebridge at Cybertron'_, Optimus praised.

Katie cocked her head curiously, "Why not?"

"Don't the Decepticons know where their own planet is?"

"Naturally," Ratchet scoffed, "But Cybertron is many light-years away. To reach their target, their aim must be astronomically precise."

Optimus's voice came over the comlink once more. _'If Megatron went through the trouble of rendezvousing with his spacebridge, he must have an alternate targeting system; A remote one.'_

"From what I know of earth's technology," Ratchet told him, "I doubt there exists a single radio telescope disk on this planet powerful enough to pinpoint Cybertron."

Katie cocked her head, all this talk went right over her. Turning to ask her brother what they meant, Raf stepped forward and caught her attention. "What about a whole bunch of linked radio telescope dishes? Like the giant size array in Texas?"

"Up, up, up!" the medic cut in, "this is not child's play."

Optimus cut off his medic over the com, _'Good thinking Rafael. Ratchet, have Agent Fowler alert the array staff to the security hazard.' _

Said special agent sat up on his medical berth, in a daze, before yelling. "You! Soldier, you're out of uniform! Put on some pants!" With that, he fell back on the berth; Katie attempted to stifle her giggles.

"That… may be a challenge…"

Raf turned to a computer and began typing frantically. "I can't get past the array's firewalls," the boy slammed his fist down hard in frustration, "they're too thick."

"You actually think you can keep the Deceptions out?" Ratchet laughed humorously.

"Maybe… if I can get in."

"Wait," Jack came over to the younger boy, "what if we could get you all the way in? Like, inside the building in."

Raf's face brightened, "I could log into the internal network on the other side of the firewall."

_'The risk is too great_,' Optimus told them, _'The Decepticons will be there, perhaps even on site.'_

Jack looked to the monitor determinedly, "Optimus, with all due respect, you said it yourself. This is bigger than the safety of three humans." He looked down as he heard another person clear their throat; Katie glared at him. "Four… four humans."

"Yeah!" Miko added, "If we let the Con's win, we're fragged, along with everyone else on this planet!"

Optimus thought for a moment, his spark raging war with his processor. The kids could truly help in this situation, but if the Decepticons were on sight… he dreaded thinking of his charge in the Decepticon's servos. However, with the entire planet at risk… _'Raf…?'_

"I wanna give it a shot!"

* * *

The still air around the radio telescope array, vibrated suddenly as a green-blue vortex burst into view. The four humans jumped out, the three older ones swaying with nausea. "That'll take some getting used to…"

"How come she's ok?" Miko pointed to the littlest child who seemed completely unaffected by the strange energy.

The toddler bounded forward with the others behind, "Come on!"

Miko peeped her head out the door, a devious smile crossing her face at the empty hallway. "Security sure is lax in this place." She came over to where Raf sat by a computer, typing.

"I'm in," the boy smiled, "and so are the Decepticons."

"What?"

"How do you know?"

"Schematics," the boy replied, "with the same alien math as we saw on their ship." A sinister smile spread across his face as he held up a flash drive, "but this time, I can download them."

"It's gotta be the spacebridge."

Katie blinked in confusion; she came along because she wanted to help Optimus, but most of this talk went over her head. "Jack," she pulled on his pants.

"What's up, Kate?" Kneeling down, he looked his sister in the eyes.

"What so bad 'bout Dec… Decept… Cons?"

Her brother thought for a moment before answering. "You know that show you watch on Saturdays, _Jake and the Neverland Pirates_?" She nodded. "In the show, what is Captain Hook?"

"He de bad guy!"

"That's right, he's the bad guy. The Decepticons are bad guys too. Remember yesterday, when they tried to hurt us?" She nodded slowly. "The Autobots are the good guys and they have to fight the bad guys."

"So," the little girl thought before speaking, "The Bots are the good guys, and dey have to fight the bad guys so dey don't hurt people?"

Jack smiled. "That's right!"

Raf's voice cut through their conversation, "The Decepticons are syncing the bridge to the dishes, but I can sync to them."

"Will they know?" Jack picked up his sister and looked back at the computer whiz.

"Even if the Decepticons see that I'm in the system, they'll have no idea I'm in the house." The boy smiled as he typed furiously. His face turned grim, "They're locked onto Cybertron, but not for long." His fingers danced across the keyboard and the diagram turned back to its original position, away from Cybertron. He sighed a moment later, "The dishes are heading back towards Cybertron… I'll just undo that again."

"What happens when the Cons realize they're being punked?"

The little boy smiled happily, "Its only virtual combat, like online gaming."

"Yea Jack," Miko laughed, "What're the Cons gonna do? They're probably like, a thousand miles away."

Jack stood stiffly, clutching his sister closely; he could not shake the feeling of dread. A noise caused him to turn around; a metal tentacle with a claw on the end hovered behind them. The claw thrashed, knocking Miko away as Jack rolled away, holding Katie close. The toddler screamed as the tentacle lifted her and her brother into the air, swinging them around.

"I won't let them lock on again!" Despite this, Raf continued to work on the computer.

Throwing the siblings into a wall, the tentacle moved towards the younger boy. Raf jumped up as it came at him, pulling his flash drive from the terminal before the claw destroyed it.

Miko jumped up, hefting up a fire axe that hung on the wall. Giving a primal yell, she charged forward, the tentacle knocking her back with one blow.

The four humans watched as the claw lifted the dropped fire axe and held it up towards them. "YOU HANDED IT AN AXE!" The humans pulled back, awaiting the final blow; however, the tentacle, the axe still in its claw.

Standing up, the children chased after it, bursting through a pair of double doors into a larger room. They stopped at the sight of a large, faceless, Decepticon looking at them. Miko pulled out her phone and snapped a quick photo and the Con zoomed in on them, a loud click resounding as the image on his visor, the image of them, froze. The robot transformed into a jet and shot away into the sky.

"Why's he leaving?" the Japanese girl asked.

Raf ran over to a long wire, in which the fire axe lay imbedded in. "He cut the hardline; the dishes are locked onto Cybertron… for good."

* * *

The children returned to base and soon the computers began beeping. "Optimus," Ratchet exclaimed, "I'm registering a highly expanding mass in their space bridge vortex, one with a peculiar energy signature!" The kids stared at the screen; Fowler, finally awake, limped over beside them.

_'Dark Energon… Ratchet, we must destroy the space bridge. There is enough live Energon to detonate it, but we lack the firepower to ignite it!'_ Katie looked up at her guardian's voice over the com.

The medic vented, "If I knew how the spacebridge was engineered, I might actually find a technical way of accomplishing that feat."

"Um," Raf held up a flash drive, "would schematics help?"

Looking back at the screen, Ratchet's optics pleaded for another answer, "Optimus, I must say, the spacebridge is our only hope of ever returning to Cybertron. Are you certain that its destruction is the only option?"

_'I am afraid so.'_

"Then by all means… let us light our darkest hour!"

_'Autobots,'_ Optimus ordered, _'Take your positions, and follow Ratchet's lead… while I make my stand.'_

Katie gasped at his dark tone. "Oppie?" She looked at her brother in fear. "Is he gonna be ok?"

"He'll be fine…" Jack picked her up and smoothed her hair comfortingly.

Cutting through the silence that followed, Arcee's voice spoke, _'Ratchet, we're in position.'_

Katie perked up, timidly speaking, "Cee?"

_'Hey kid…'_

"Arcee," Ratchet instructed, "pay close attention."

"Now follow the line from the flow regulator to the Energon pump," Ratchet explained, "there should be a valve."

_'I see it.'_

"Good! To turn all that power against itself, all you need do is reverse the current."

_'…current reversed.'_

Katie squealed with delight at this; she may not understand what exactly went on but she got that it was good for them and bad for the bad guys.

Ratchet smiled, "I'll ready the groundbridge." He walked over to the generator, turning on the groundbridge before coming his leader once more, "Optimus, the groundbridge is ready and waiting."

_'Autobots!'_ The leader's voice called out, _'Jump!' _

There was a long silence as the vortex spun and no one appeared. Raf looked up at the medic, eyes full of concern. "Do you think, they're…?"

"Think they're what?" Katie asked, head tilted. No one answered her.

Ratchet looked a monitor on his arm before speaking, "Four life signals… one very faint."

Just as their spirits dropped, they quickly rose again for Optimus stepped through the portal. "OPPIE!" Katie squirmed out of her brother's hold and flew down the stairs. The leader watched with joy and relief as she clanged into his pedde, a smile plastered onto her face.

Bulkhead came through next. "Bulkhead!" Miko ran down towards him, the wrecker kneeling down and holding out his servo which the girl wrapped in a hug.

Raf and Jack held their breath, as their guardians had not appeared. The two gasped as Bumblebee stepped through, cradling the limp form of Arcee in his arms. Katie saw this and reeled back in horror. Jack sprinted forward as Katie clutched her guardian's pedde, tears shining in her eyes.

"We've already lost one this week, by the Allspark, don't let it be two."

Jack came over, laying his hand atop her servo; the femme's optics slowly onlined, looking at her charge. The boy breathed in deeply, "Arcee…"

"Jack, really?" she tiredly chuckled. "There are other motorcycles in the world."

He gave a sad smile and his sister's face brightened. "But, you're my first…"

"Gonna be 'kay?"

The femme looked down at the toddler with a smirk, "Do you really think I'd be taken down that easily?"

"And Megatron?"

Optimus bent down to lift Katie into his palm before replying to the medic. "Not even he could survive ground zero." The little girl nuzzled against his servo before smiling and closing her eyes.

"Prime!" Fowler called out, catching the leader's attention. "I didn't get to thank you Bots for the save. I own you one… we all do…" With that, the elevator closed, and he was gone.

Arcee stood up, smiling at Jack, while Optimus looked down to the child in his own servo, now slept contentedly, the day's events taking their toll. His optics turned as Miko approached timidly, "So is this the part where you say 'goodbye' and tell us we need to forget we ever saw you?"

His optics swept across his team and the humans, landing lastly on Katie, curled in his own servo.

* * *

Jack and Katie pulled up into the park. "Ok, Kate," Jack sighed as he lifted his sister off his bike, "be careful, and have fun."

"Kay!" She waved, "Bye Jack, bye Cee!" The motorcycle revved in response. Katie turned, sprinting towards the red and blue semi across the grass.

The door opened and she clambered in, "Good morning, Katie."

"Mornin' Oppie!" The seatbelt snaked its way across her chest and buckled in. "Wha' we gonna do?"

The truck started, and drove off "Wait and see, little one…"

* * *

Yea! We are out of Darkness Rising… finally!

Please review!

_"For I am doing something in your own day, something you wouldn't believe even if someone told you about it."_

_Habakkuk 1:5_


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